THE SECRET SCHOOL

When the teacher at the one-room schoolhouse must depart unexpectedly, a 14-year-old girl swears the other students to secrecy and decides to take over the school in order to complete her exit exams. "Avi weaves together a fast-moving plot, solid characterizations, sharply tuned dialogue and a wealth of detail as he evokes rural Colorado in 1925," wrote PW. Ages 8-12. (Aug.)